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Naked foraminiferans revealed

Nature volume 399, page 27 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

It is generally assumed that the first fossil appearance of a group of organisms corresponds to its evolutionary origin. But we have molecular evidence that extant members of the most abundant microfossil-forming group, the Foraminifera, include ‘naked’ amoeboid species, indicating that ancestral foraminiferans could be unfossilized. This means that the origin of the group might be much earlier than has been deduced from the fossil record. This might help to explain the conflicting molecular and fossil data on the origin of the Foraminifera.

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Figure 1: Phylogenetic position of Reticulomyxa filosa and foraminiferans.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology and Animal Biology, University of Geneva, 1224 Chne-Bougeries, Geneva, Switzerland

    Jan Pawlowski, Ignacio Bolivar, José Fahrni & Colomban de Vargas

  2. Museum of Natural History, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland

    Jan Pawlowski

  3. New York State Department of Health, Wadsworth Center, P.O. Box 509, Albany, 12201, New York, USA

    Samuel S. Bowser

Authors
  1. Jan Pawlowski
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  2. Ignacio Bolivar
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  3. José Fahrni
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  4. Colomban de Vargas
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  5. Samuel S. Bowser
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Pawlowski, J., Bolivar, I., Fahrni, J. et al. Naked foraminiferans revealed. Nature 399, 27 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/19881

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